Same-sex’ couple arrested

LAHORE: Police arrested a wife and her husband — a woman who underwent gender reassignment surgery 16 years ago — and accused them of lying about the husband’s gender to a court.

The case, which casts a rare public spotlight on the taboo subject of transsexualism in the country, came to the attention of the authorities after the bride’s father appealed to the Lahore High Court to annul his daughter’s wedding, saying it was against Islam for two women to marry.

Police arrested Shumail Raj, 31, and Shahzina Tariq, 26, on Sunday, said Aslam Tareen, a senior police officer. The court ordered earlier this month that Raj and Shahzina, who married last year, be arrested and produced before it for making a false statement about Raj’s sexuality, Tareen said.

Raj earlier claimed in a sworn statement before the court that he is a man. But a court-appointed panel of doctors later declared him a woman. Raj told the court-appointed doctors that he underwent gender reassignment surgery 16 years ago after he noticed changes in his voice and began to grow facial hair, Ejaz Bhatty, the head of the panel of court appointed doctors, who examined Raj said earlier.

Raj’s breasts and uterus were removed in the sex-change operation, Bhatty said, adding however, still there was “all the evidence” that supports Raj to be a woman.

Raj and Tariq have been moved to Faisalabad, their hometown about 100 kms west of Lahore, Tareen said without giving any reason, adding that they are scheduled to appear in the LHC on Tuesday.
Source: The News
Date:5/21/2007